An Optimist Aims to Revive Red Herring

By VICTORIA SHANNON

Published: October 20, 2003

BERLIN, Oct. 19—
It is a truism of markets that a good time to invest is at the bottom of the business cycle.

Alex Vieux, a native of France, is taking that maxim to heart.

In these difficult times for technology companies, he plans to resuscitate Red Herring, a magazine that was an early messenger of the new economy.

Mr. Vieux, 46, is a longtime friend of the technology world -- a schmoozer who attracts big names to conferences put on around the world by his American company, Dasar. Last week in Berlin, for example, Bill Gates made his seventh return visit to Mr. Vieux's annual European Technology Roundtable Exhibition.

In April, Mr. Vieux bought the Red Herring brand after its investors, Broadview Holdings, decided not to continue financing the money-losing venture. Time Warner had purchased the Red Herring subscriber list, with an agreement that precluded a print version for 18 months.

Mr. Vieux plans to publish the return issue next September. In the meantime, he is hiring, planning and reinvigorating the Red Herring Web site -- which went back online in September -- from his offices in Mountain View, Calif.

He thinks there is still room for aggressive reporting in the technology start-up business. ''The market needs a voice, an opinionated voice,'' Mr. Vieux said. ''It also needs a balanced voice.''

James Daly, former editor of Business 2.0, is heading the Red Herring editorial staff and is trying to attract writers for the magazine.

Mr. Vieux would not disclose the purchase price. Dasar, his company, is a 20 percent stakeholder.

As publisher, Mr. Vieux knows that he needs more than good connections to make the magazine succeed. He is counting on a comeback in technology advertising to return Red Herring to profitability. And he hopes to emphasize the global nature of the technology business.

''Silicon Valley is not America,'' he said. ''It is not a mirror of the country. It is a very international place.''